A DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT by Pastor Phil
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Mark 4:35-41
Last Saturday, with the Baby Boomer “Youth Group,” we used this passage to listen for Jesus to speak to us through his “living” Word. The people there shared a number of simple, yet profound, things they heard through this passage. There is so much that can be gained from these few verses.
For me, the phrase that stood out was “Let us go over to the other side.”
Jesus was having a successful ministry. He was teaching crowds. Yet, he was not content to stay put. Others needed to be reached. So, it was time to “go over to the other side.”
As we come out of Covid and fully reopen the church again, we are so ready to “go back to the way things were.” I appreciate that desire, even share it, but realize that followers of Christ don’t “go back.” We go forward. We answer the call to “Come, follow me.” We continue to “go to the other side."
As followers of Christ, there is no “staying the way we are.” We are constantly being changed by the Holy Spirit to become more and more like Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). And Jesus is constantly seeking and saving the lost (Luke 19:10). That is why he was always on the move. That's why he said “Let us go over to the other side.”
I know how strong the desire is to “go back to the way we were.” I feel that pull as well. It’s more comfortable to stay the way we are. We like the way things were. To go to the other side, figuratively speaking, means change. It means having to make adjustments. Going forward into the unknown means uncertainty and likely discomfort and who enjoys uncertainty and discomfort?
For the followers of Christ in our scripture passage, going to the other side resulted in huge difficulty and terror. Yikes, who wants that? But the end result was an experience of the power of Jesus so incredible it was terrifying in a different way. As much as I hate the feeling of terror (I NEVER watch a scary movie) I do want to be terrified by the experience of the power of God.
What about you? PGCC has had wonderful years of ministry as its members, past and present, have responded to the call of God. I want that to continue, don’t you? I want to experience God at work, even if it terrifies me, don’t you? I don’t want to go back. I want to go forward in answer to Jesus’ call to “come.” Don’t you?
Then, “Let us go over to the other side.”
